Senior Enlisted Naval Leader Thanks Rep. Sara Jacobs for FY24 NDAA Provision that Addresses “#1 Quality of Life Concern of our Sailors”
At today’s House Armed Services Committee’s Military Quality of Life Panel hearing, Master Chief Petty Officer Honea thanked Rep. Sara Jacobs (CA-51) for securing her provision in the FY2024 NDAA that expands housing access for junior enlisted service members. Her provision gives commanding officers the authority to grant off-base housing access to junior enlisted service members living on a naval vessel during shipyard unavailability or a maintenance period.
Watch Video of the Exchange Here
Rep. Sara Jacobs said: “Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you all for being here and for the many conversations I've had with you all about these issues. Master Chief Petty Officer Honea, I wanted to start with you. I was really pleased to hear in your testimony that sailors all over the world are going to be benefiting from the provision I was able to get into the FY24 NDAA that provides the Secretary of the Navy the authority to grant BAH to junior sailors assigned to ships undergoing maintenance. I had heard from many sailors in San Diego about how much this authority was needed, and I was grateful we were able to make it happen. I was wondering if you could speak to this. How this provision will improve the quality of life for junior enlisted service members in densely populated cities and also when do you anticipate the Secretary of the Navy will first need to make use of this new authority?”
Master Chief Petty Officer Honea said: “Ma'am, I thank you for making this change. And I ask for your continued support and furthering this change to expand across all sailors that are assigned to ships, not just those that are going to maintenance overhaul or in an industrial environment, and then it'll have even a greater impact. The immediate impact that it's going to have… it's going to give us the ability and the flexibility and the authority to pay those sailors to secure their own housing. And then that will no longer then have to be an afterthought of the maintenance budget. It will already be programmed into the manpower account, and it will give those sailors then immediate separation from their work life to their home life. Currently, as it stands, or as it stood, we were challenged in that regard, much as you saw when we ended up with too many aircraft carriers and submarines in HII a few years ago, and we were resource-constrained and be able to house all those sailors at one time.
“This authority, this gives our Secretary much more flexibility to make that part of the manpower account. Program this allow for those sailors to secure housing outside the fence line. Once we're able to expand this across the entire fleet, and we have that kind of flexibility everywhere, and then we'll be able to afford every sailor that same luxury to have a separation from their workspace to their home life, which doesn't currently exist. Somewhere in the neighborhood, on average 800 sailors per aircraft carrier, we can't find a bed for, we don't have barrack space and we are not, and we are not allowed by law to pay them house allowance for them to go find themselves an apartment in town, so they live onboard the ship. That's the number one quality of life concern of our sailors that are currently on deployment that are in that situation is when we return from deployment, ‘Am I going to continue to live on this ship? Or will I be able to find a barracks room and move into a bed and have separation from this workplace?’ I ask you for your continued support. I thank you so much for listening to your constituents in San Diego and making this necessary change.”
Rep. Sara Jacobs said: “Absolutely, and we look forward to working with you to try and expand that authority in the next NDAA.”
###